Engine-starter.



v. BENDIX.

ENGINE STARTER. E APPLICAITION FILED MAR. l0. i917- mmm@ 'Emma Een V12, 1918.

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'VINCENT BENDIX, 0F CHICAGO, ILLIFI'OIS.l

ENGINESTARTEE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT BENDIX, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to that type of engine starter exemplified in patents heretofore issued to me, for instance Patent No. 1,125,935, dated January 26, 1915, and Patent No. 1,172,864, dated February 22, 1916 which starters are characterized by a prime mover such as an electric motor and a transmission Vor drive for transmitting the power of the motor by means of a rotatable screw shaft and a pinion mounted thereon, to a member of the .engine to be started, such as the fly wheel thereof. vThis drive comprises a screw shaft operated either directly or indirectly by the motor and a pinion screw-threaded on such shaft and having longitudinal movement thereon and rotary movement therewith.

My invention pertains to mean's for pre-I venting creeping movement of the pinion on the screw shaft due to vibration of the automobile on which my engine starters are commonly employed, such means being arranged to prevent any possible slight rotation of the pinion' which might advance it into` contact with the fly wheel and thereby cause a clashing and a rasping sound, such means being" so designed as not' to interfere in any manner with the ordinary or normal operations of the drive.

lin the drawing Figure 1 is an elevation, f'

partly in.section, of 'a drive embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a detailed sectional elevation of thefscrew shaft and pinion; Fig. 4

an elevation of the plunger; Fig. 5` across section of the screwshaft and., pinion illustrating a'modiied form of construction; and Flg. 6 a detailed view of such modified form.

The general construction of the drive is the same as shown in my patents aforesaid and therefore it will be suicient to say that the drive comprises in connection with the extended armature shaft 1 of the electric motor indicated at A, a rotatable hollow screw'shaft 2, pinion 3 adapted to mesh with the teeth of the engine Hy wheel B, a coiled spring ,4 constituting the yielding driving connection between the collar 5 Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, T9118.

Application led March 10, 1917. Serial No. 153,810.

which is secured to the armature shaft by the pinV or bolt 6, and the bolt or stud 7 screwing into the enlargement 2a of the screw shaft.

The means provided for preventing possibility of rotary movement of the p1n1on 3 on the screw shaft due to vibration and a consequent creeping of the pinion therealong consists of a spring-controlled device carried by the pinion and coperating with the screw shaft for normally holding such pinion in its home or retracted position but without interfering with the proper operation and action of such pinion.

Referring to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to Il, the pinion is provided with a disk 8 secured/to one end thereof and having on its outer face a semi-cylindrical weight portion 8a. This weight portion is provided with a vertical hole 8b in which slides the stem of a plunger 9. This plunger has at its inner end a head or enlargement 9a between which and the inner face of the weight portion 8a is a spring 10 coiled around such stem. This plunger is thereby spring-pressed inwardly toward and against the screw shaft and coperates therewith to hold the pinion in its retracted position. Tt will be understood that this spring 10 is very li ht and gives small resistance,vwl1ich is su cient to prevent creeping of the pinion to, but does not, interfere in any way with the normal operatlon of the drive. While the screw shaft may be formed in different ways to thus coperate with this plunger, I prefer the construction shown according to which the screw shaft has at the left of the screw threads a circumferential groove 2b from which leads the inclined or beveled portion 2c on which the head of the plunger will ride whenl the pinion is being advanced longitudinally of thescrew shaft in its normaloperation.

The home po'sitio'n of the pinion is 1nd1- cated in Fig. 1 at vwhich time the head of Athe plunger is in contact with-the groove till) litt@ 2". The creeping of the pinion involves a l slight slow rotation thereof upon the screw shaft when stationary or a slow longitudinal movement of the pinion on the screw shaft when caused to slowly turn by. vibration, or the pinion may have a comblnation of both of these movements, but any such movement of the pinion is prevented inasmuch as the plunger by its contact with the screw shaft tends to hold the pinion against longitudinal movement, besides which the` frictional resistance of the plunger is `increased whenever the head of the pinion starts to ride upon the inclined portion 2% thereby compressing the spring 10 and 1ncreasing the resistance and'pressure aiforded thereby. In the regular rapid rotation of the pinion the centrifugal force throws the plunger outwardly until stopped by the compression of the spring 10.

Obviously, any recess in the shaft cooperating with the plunger would accomplish the Same result but for manufacturing purposes, the circumferentiall groove 1s preferred.

In the normal operation of the drive, 1n which case the screw shaft 2 is rotated by the electric motor the pinion will be advanced longitudinally along the screw shaft withoutany aifecting resistance from the plunger, such plunger being shown in Fig. 3 as ,riding upon the threads of the screw shaft although it may travel between the threads.

Referring to the modied form of construction in Fig. 5 the counterbored portion of the pinion is provided with a curved leaf spring 11 secured to said pinion in suitable manner as by means of the screws 12. The

.outer free end of this spring is inwardly kinked or curved as shown at 11a and adapted to press againstthe screw shaft with a very light pressure. In order that the pinion may be retained in home position and prevented from creeping movement, such shaft is provided toward its left-hand end with a groove 2d located on the plain portion of the thread at the left-hand side of the screw threads, as indicated in Fig. 6. This groove is inclined at its end adjacent the screw threads, so that the spring will easily ride out of the groove during the advance or longitudinal movement of the pinion in the regular operation of the drive. The spring 11 is restrained against the effect of centrifugal force by the inner face ofthe pinion.

In the broader aspect of my invention the disk may be considered a part of the pinion and therefore it may be properly said that the spring-pressed plunger is mounted on or carried by the pinion.

I claim:

1. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable member, a driving member mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, means 1 mounted on the driving member and adapted to contact thev rotatable member and apply thereto a yielding frictional resistance l to prevent creeping longitudinal movement of the driving member.

2. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable member, a driving member mounted theneon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movementtherewith, means' mounted on the driving member and adapt-v 2. In an engine starte-r drive including a rotatable member, a driving member mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring device mounted on one of the members and coacting with the other member whereby the driving member is held in normal or home position, such other member having a recess with which said device coperates when the driving member is in said normal position.

4. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable member, a driving member mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on one of the members and adapted to press against the other member with a yielding resistance to hold the driving member in normal or home position.

5. In an en 'ne starter drive including a rotatable mem er, a driving member mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on one of the members and adapted to press against the other member with a yieldingresistance to hold the driving member in normal or home position, sai with which said plunger coperates in such normal position of the rotatable member.

6. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, friction applying means mounted on the pinion to prevent creeping longitudinal movement thereof, said means being physically independent of the shaft but adapted to contact it.

7. In an engine starter drive including a other member having a recess rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof 'and rotary movement therewith, a spring creeping longitudinal movement of the pin- 1on. 9. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, and having a weighted disk at one end, a spring pressed plunger mounted in such disk and adapted to contact the shaft to prevent creeping' longitudinal movement of the pinion.

10. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on the pinion and adapted to contact the shaft, the shaft havmg a recess coperating with the plunger when the pinion is in such normal position.

11. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on the pinion and adapted to contact the shaft, the shaft having, toward one end beyond its screw threads, a circumferential groove coperating with the plunger when the pinion is in such normal position.

12. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on the pinion and adapted to Contact the shaft, the shaft having, toward one end beyond its screw threads, a circumferential groove coperating with the plunger when the pinion is in such normal position, and having its side toward the screw threads inclined.

13. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, and having a Weighted disk at one end, a spring pressed plunger mounted in such disk and adapted to contact the shaft, the shaft having a groove coperating with the plunger when the pinion is in such normal position.

14. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, friction means mounted on the pinion and arranged to apply friction to the shaft in a direction radial thereof to prevent creeping longitudinal movement of the pinion.

15. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring device mounted on the pinion and projecting radially toward and in contact with the shaft.

16. In an engine starter drive including a rotatable screw shaft, a pinion mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith, a spring pressed plunger mounted on the pinion and projecting radially toward and in contact with the shaft.

VINCENT BENDIX.

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